Anderson Classic

Anderson Classic, Alder, Color "3 Color Burst",
Model - Classic
Body Finish - 3 Color Burst
Body Wood - Alder
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple
Neck Finish - Tinted
Nutwidth - 1 11/16 in
Frets - Low-Rise
Back Shape - 60's Vibe
Hardware - Chrome
Bridge - Vintage Tremolo Power Bridge
Pickguard - Mint
Pickups - SA1R SA1 HO2
Switching - 5 Way, Mini Switch Splits, Pull Adds Bridge, Vintage Voicing

I play all types of music(Session & Live) I've been playing 40yrs, My amps are Carr Rambler 2/10, Mesa Boogie Express 5/50 & Lonestar 2/12, Fender Blues Reissue. My pedals: Xotic RC & AC, TS808 Mod by The Analogman, Boss Tremelo mod by The Analogman,Fultone ChoralFlange, Keeley Compressor, Fulltone Clyde Wah, Boss DD6-Delay. I own many guitars PRS,Suhr,Don Grosh Retro Classic, Gibson ES335, Collings I-35,Gibson Les Paul Standard, Fender Strat American, Gibson ES175, Terry C McInturff Empress SSH, And I must say that this is the best sounding and most versatile guitar I've ever used covering from vintage strat to serious tele to crazy metal on bridge pickup to jazz using the neck pickup. I will always take two or three guitars to a gig or session but I will only need one! I'm a tone snob so this is the first time I've been happy with one guitar. Please don't take my word for it please just play one for about 1hr with your own amp.

Finish is great the setup & action made not want to put it down from factory!

I will play this guitar live as well as doing all my sessions and was built to play! I never go anywhere with one guitar this is a living for me not a hobby.

Now this is the tricky part! When I brought this guitar(Indoorstorm.com) Eddie is the man! I played it for about 3hrs and I began to hear some static when I touch the pickup screws, I could not believe it was the guitar so I changed my cables and then my amp and it was still there so I changed guitars and it was gone! I almost lost it! So when Indoor Storm open I went back and told Eddie what was going on and he never heard of anything like it, So he played the guitar and we still heard the static. He then got on the phone to Tom Anderson and we began to trouble shoot! nothing we tried worked. So Tom suggested to rub a dyer sheet over the pickgaurd of course we did not have a dyer sheet in the store so when I got home I followed the instructions and it worked! And I reported the info to Eddie and not 20 minutes later I got back to back emails from Tom himself, Not a tech but the man himself! NOW THAT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE!

If this guitar was stolen I would cry first then go back to Indoorstorm and try to order another one but this one was made with an acoustic bridge.

2007 Anderson classic, Ash body, Maple neck, African rosewood fingerboard, vintage style vibrato bar, locking tuners, 22 stainless steel frets, Buzz Feiten tuning system, 5 way switching, mini toggle to split bridge, push pull tone to activate bridge from 5 way position 1 or 2.This guitar has the new ANderson 2 bolt a-wedge neck....huge upgrade from the standard 4 bolt design that has been around for 50+ years.

Passive electronics. Pickups are an SA1R neck, SA1 middle, H2+ bridge

All Anderson guitars come with a custom fitted case, and you send in for a strap and T shirt.

the SA pickups are stacked strat pickup, big in the midrange with nice definition. Easily as good as any other stacked strat pickup I have ever tried. The H2+ is my fav bridge pickup, has the output of a JB but doesnt have the midrange spike of a JB....the mids are smooth and the lows are punchy. Treble is really round sounding. The H2+ splits really well and when you split the bridge and add the neck pickup you get a REALLY cool faux tele sound.

The guitar is heavier than my other Andersons and has a bright tone that really cuts. The brighness isnt overpowering.

Guitar can cover everything but does the country-rock-blues thing best. It is a strat tye guitar....not really a Jazz instrument

Anderson is renouned for only sending out guitars that are pretty much 100% set up. This one was no exception, it came with 10-46 strings and I use 9-46 so I had to make a change there. pickup height was bang on, intonation was perfect and there are no finish flaws of any sort.

Anderson only releases one or 2 guitars a day....amazing finish work shouldnt shock anyone.

It stays in tune, sounds great and IS solid. From the first time you pick an Anderson up you kow that the piece is solid.

I have had it for nearly a year and the guitar has never let me down. The A wedge makes for the most solid feeling bolt on guitar that I have ever used. Amazing innovation.

I have called a couple times (I own 3 Andersons) and have talked to Roy and Tom.

Cust support is amazing....when the owner answers the phone you know you have good support

I have 3, have one more on the way and dont use any other guitars anymore.

Andersons do it for me. If you can find and afford one go for it.

My Classic is a 2003. Here are the specs as kept on file at Anderson Guitarworks:

Model - Classic
Body Finish - Ruby Slippers
Body Wood - Alder
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple, Rosewood Fretboard
Neck Finish - Satin Finish
Nutwidth - 1 11/16 in
Frets - Heavy
Back Shape - '62 Roundback
Hardware - Chrome
Bridge - Vintage Tremolo
Pickguard - White Pearloid
Pickups - VA2R VA2 H2+
Switching - 5 Way, Mini Switch Splits, Pull Adds Bridge, Vintage Voicing
Strings - .010-.046 Elixir strings

The guitar is really full sounding when played unplugged, springy is a word that could be used to describe its acoustic sound.

The guitar is an H-S-S setup so it covers all of the super strat terrirories that one could expect. There is a toggle for splitting the bridge humbucker and a pull pot on the tone that brings the brigde pickup on when the 5 way is set for the neck or neck and middle position. Only thing I dont like is the fact that position IV with the bridge split isnt noise cancelling.

Anderson guitars are second to none in fit and finish. I got this one used and it needed to be set up.

Like a Fender strat but better and tougher. This guitar is solid in all ways

Lifetime transferable warranty. Amazing customer service.

As far as strat style guitars go Anderson is at the top of the food chain with a few other elite makers. You really cat go wrong and everyone should seek out an Anderson guitar.

They are that good.

This is a follow up review.

It has been over a year since I did my first review, so I thought I would chime in again. The honeymoon is over. I loved the way it sounded clean, and with a little bit of grit. I just could get anything heavier out of it. That's not the guitars fault though. It seemed to me that there are several other guitars whose tone I prefer. Anderson's playability remains untouched. The quality of these guitars is unbelieveable. The first time I realized it is when I played a Fender Custom Shop 67 telecaster. It didn't play as well, but man it wailed. It was effortless to get a great sound out of that thing. With the Anderson, I was constantly searching for that great tone. I found a ton of very good ones, just not a great one. I have since moved on to a PRS McCarty that seems to fill the tone void left by the Anderson. The Anderson wipes the floor in every other category, but I finally realized that tone is the most important thing to me.

It has been over a year since I did my first review, so I thought I would chime in again. The honeymoon is over. I loved the way it sounded clean, and with a little bit of grit. I just could get anything heavier out of it. That's not the guitars fault though. It seemed to me that there are several other guitars whose tone I prefer. Anderson's playability remains untouched. The quality of these guitars is unbelieveable. The first time I realized it is when I played a Fender Custom Shop 67 telecaster. It didn't play as well, but man it wailed. It was effortless to get a great sound out of that thing. With the Anderson, I was constantly searching for that great tone. I found a ton of very good ones, just not a great one. I have since moved on to a PRS McCarty that seems to fill the tone void left by the Anderson. The Anderson wipes the floor in every other category, but I finally realized that tone is the most important thing to me.

Mine was made with M pickups and a hardtail, with the non-switcheroo setup. Thin neck (I regret that --- should have gone for the Roundback), brown body, black hardware. Awesome.

Best used for recording, as the intonation and equivalence are unbelievable. No dead spots or strings, lively beyond belief, and very clear. Not the most inspiring tone for rock, but great anyway.

Perfection, although I actually changed the setup to suit my style.

The shocking thing about Anderson guitars is that they seem very delicate, but you can actually beat the shit out of them. Like a titanium tank.

Great service. If you have a question, there's a decent chance Tom will get on the phone to answer it. The only caveat I have is that you better know what you want, because they don't offer opinions or double-check.

The best Strat ever made? Maybe. Beautifully styled, perfectly crafted, ten times better than any Fender ever (only an ESP 400 is really arguable, and maybe my Hamer T-62), and now the standard for boutiques. If it were stolen I'd send out a posse and order another with a fatter neck while I was waiting for the perp's head.

My TA Classic is 05-07-05N. All swamp ash, tobacco fade finish. Pup's are SA1 SA1R SA2+ 5 way, mini switch, Push Pull adds bridge, Vintage Voicing, Heavy frets, 1 11/16 nutwidth, Feiten tuning system Neck +.30 Form fit case is bullet proof

I demoed this guitar while on vacation in Florida. I had heard of Anderson but never played one. The guitar is addicting. I couldn't get the vibe out of my head even after I was back in NJ. I called MAE in Ft Lauderdale and ordered the guitar over the phone. And then patiently waited for the UPS truck to arrive.. It's been 2 months now and my other guitars are collecting dust. The Classic can do just about anything you ask of it. It is the most alive guitar I have ever played. I have the choice of 11 tones or so and I use 7-8 regularly. That's compared to my Strat with Texas Special which I found on one sound appealing. And I liked that guitar!

I play thru a Mesa Lonestar Classic 2X12. Rock, blues, country, alt country tones are there with this combo. Feedback from players who know their stuff and I respect are always thumbs up. I play thru a 72 Deluxe Reverb also and it doesn't get much better anywhere in the gear world.

I bought it new. I don't know how long it was in the store. I was very happy it was still available when I called back to MAE. After it arrived, a careful inspection found no flaws, setup is perfect. Frets No buzz or static. Action was slightly higher than my Strat, but within my comfort zone. Anderson quality is in a league of its own. *****
I love the look of this guitar, it is a beautiful looking as it is playing. Not heavy, balanced and the contours fit my arms and body comfortably. I played this one day nearly 6 hours. No sore spots and only minor tuning adjustments.

I have gigged with this guitar and it never ceases to amaze me. It is a keeper. I don't play pro, but I sit in with some good bands now and then. Backup, what's a backup? I keep it clean wiping it down after use. Summer is close, so gigging outside brings sweat into the equation. Keep it clean and the finish should last. Dependable is an understatement.

I have contacted Tom by email and on the forum. He responds sincerely and quickly to posted questions. That doesn't happen with any of the big guys. You are made to feel as if you have adopted an Anderson when you buy one. I have felt this kind of vibe from only a handful of companies I have dealt with in my life. When I visit California in the future, a tour of the Anderson shop is in my plans.
I just need to find out what flavor of beer they would like me to bring.

I have been playing since The Beatles invaded, 40+ years. Only in the past two or three years though have I really gotten into understanding and acquiring a few select pieces of equipment that are exceptional. My amps and guitars have been average, run of the mill stuff with no playability issues. Good stuff, nothing special. The Mesa Lonestar started me looking for a guitar that would compliment it. The Anderson Classic is that guitar. If it was stolen, I would be sobbing uncontrollably as I ordered two more. It is said the first Anderson you buy is just that. The first, others WILL follow. That is very true.
I have been thinking about getting a Hollow T Classic with all the specs I want on a custom order. I would feel guilty though having to decide which TA to play. What a tough issue that would be to deal with.

I am not trying to gush, rant or go gear snob here, but I don't think I will be buying anything but Andersons in the future. There is a lot of great stuff out in the market, I'm sold on Anderson.
Besides, life's too short to play cheap guitars.

2002 Anderson Classic, Swamp Ash with a maple neck and African Rosewood fingerboard. H2, SA1 and SA 1R pickups. Five position switch with master splitter for positions 1-4, and pull tone for add bridge giving you the option of neck/bridge, and all three pickups. Standard neck shape with heavy frets. Standard trem, Buzz Feiten tuning system.

I would term the style of music I currently play as high energy blues mixed with a bit of jazz and fusion. This guitar fits me to a T. My main rig is a Two Rock Opal, and through this amp the Anderson just shines. It is very interesting to me how much bodywood and neckwood influences the sound of a guitar. I currently have another Andy which is alder with a maple neck, and have owned a basswood/maple/rosewood Drop top, another alder/maple, and a swamp ash/pau ferro classic. I have many different HB's for the bridge, and different stacks (SK,SL,SD) for the front and middle.
While some people seem to dislike the Anderson stacks, I find the SA's mated to the wood configuration of this guitar to be a perfect match. I actually prefer them in the split mode which not only seems to have more character, but is also louder as there is no interference from the other coil. This guitar can do a very good SRV type strat tone from the neck p/u, and then I can go to the bridge whcih alone is always in full humbucking mode and have a much stronger rock sound. The H2 in this guitar seems brighter than the H2+'s I've had before, but not overly so. The option of adding the bridge to the neck is one of my favorite features; Previously I was able to do this with the Anderson switcheroo, but this system is far easier.

This is a used guitar, yet it played perfectly right out of the box. I took it to a local music store to see if the neck needed any tweaking, and the reply was "none"! I'm not surprised at all. I know Tom and the boys never turn out anything that isn't first rate.

Andersons are built like tanks, and judging how well my other one (which is twelve years old) has held up, I expect the same from this guitar.

I can't say enough about how great a company Anderson is. I got to know these guys well when I lived in So Cal years ago, and you will not meet anyone with more dedication to building the finest guitars around. If you give them a call on the phone, it doesn't matter if you're a star or a novice. You will get straightfoward answers to your questions.

I've been playing guitar for longer than I want to admit, and play it well enough according to most people who hear me, that I could probably make a living doing it, although I choose not to. Anderson's to me are simply the best solid body electric guitars out there. Some may quibble about the price being too high, but with an EVH Charvel going for $2600, Fender relics going for over $2K and the average LP standard going for $2200, this is a moot point.

My Anderson was made in 2002. Dark Honey Burst finish, white pickguard (it also came with a pearl one in case I want to switch), vintage tremolo, S/S/H pickup configuration. Mine has an innovative switching system that uses the normal five-way selector plus a mini-toggle and a push-pull tone pot. It allows the bridge humbucker to be combined with the neck or middle pickups in either series or parallel mode. This gives you something like ten pickup combinations for a wide variety of sounds. Mine came with the VA1R, VA1, HO2 pickups. Locking tuners, '62 roundback neck with a nice, fat, chunky feel. Great case that is very durable and fits the guitar perfectly.

I play rock, blues, and folksy/alternative type music. Depending on the situation, I play through a Fender Pro Reverb, a Marshall JMP-1 preamp/power amp combination, or a Line 6 Pod XT. I use mostly Fulltone effects when I'm not using the Pod.

I give it a 6 before changing pickups, a 9 after. Here's the story: I was initally pretty disappointed with the sound of the guitar. The neck and middle single coil pickups sounded beautiful, with a shimmery, crystalline clean classic Strat sound. However, the bridge humbucker was very harsh, with an unpleasant mid-range honking type sound. Not nice.

Additionally, the guitar suffered from terrible "stratitis." The magnets in the neck and middle pickups were so strong that they pulled the strings out of a natural vibration path, resulting in an awful warbling sound when I fretted notes above the 12th fret. This continued even though I lowered the pickups flush with the pickguard.

Finally, there was no audible sonic difference when switching between series and parallel mode, and virtually none when adding the bridge HB to either single coil pickup.

I'm not sure how it made it out of the factory with these problems. At any rate, I changed out the humbucker for a Duncan JB-4, and the neck and middle single coils for the new Duncan Stack Plus noiseless pickups.

The guitar now sounds FREAKING AMAZING. With the JB-4 I get powerful, smooth, creamy lead sounds while still retaining enough bite to cut through a mix. The Stack Plus neck and middle pickups are also fantastic. They are actually stacked humbuckers, so they are a bit rounder and more throaty sounding than vintage single coils. There is a very small loss of high-end detail and shimmer vs. a single coil, but I love those throaty, woody SRV neck pickup tones, with lots of midrange complexity. These these pickups nail it. Also they work much better with the switching system - I now have ten completely different tones with incredibly versatility.

Even though the guitar sounds like a 9 now, I'm rating it a 6 because I don't think you should have to spend additional money to make a $1600 (used) guitar sound right. At this price point I should not have to drop an additional $400 on pickups and labor to fix glaring sonic issues.

Fantastic. The only reason it's not a 10 is because the action was a little high. Perfect intonation, super tight neck joint, velvet smooth controls and tuners, perfect frets, amazing finish. Mine is swamp ash with a transparent honey burst finish, and people always comment on the beauty of the wood grain. Even the plastic of the pickguard and back plates is very high quality. The internal routing is also flawless. All this adds up to in incredibly toneful guitar that is so resonant it can almost be played accoustically.

I've had it for two years, gigging and practicing regularly, without a hint of anything going wrong. I've never even broken a string on this thing. Very confidence inspiring.

I have not dealt with them. I used Lew Collins at Lew's Guitars in Boulder, CO for the work I had done, and I recommend Lew highly. My Anderson was a different guitar after he finished with it. Lew gets a 10, Anderson gets an N/A.

I've been playing for 20 years, 4 years as a touring pro. I have owned a bunch of Strats and Strat type guitars. I love this guitar and would buy another Anderson if this one were lost. I love how it can cop any tone from Steve Vai to SRV to Jeff Beck. I love how it looks, how it feels, and (after a lot of time and expense) how it sounds.

Buyer beware - before you buy one of these, listen to it critically on YOUR rig, and determine whether or not you'll need to replace the electronics like I did. Can you afford to tack on $300-$400 to the purchase price to make it sound the way you want it to?

This is a follow-up review. For what it may be worth to anyone else that has had trouble setting up their Classic. I bought this guitar eight years ago. When I tried to set it up like I have all other 25 1/2 inch scale length guitars, I ran into problems with intonation. I did not think the BF off-sets would be a big deal for me, but were. For years I lived with it not sounding right trying little tweaks here and there. I like to figure out things for myself. As always all the supposed experts suggestions didn't help. I backed up one more time. Installed graphtech saddles, and the Elixer strings that seem to be the rave. A few things I did different this time around. Once I got the tuning close before adjusting the saddles for intonation, I took lots of extra time with each string between open, and 12th fret adjustments. Also, I damped all strings except the one I was working with. Once I got the hang of this, I knew I was on the right track when I observed the position difference shape of the saddles resembling something reasonable. I kept going over each string slowly one at a time at open and 12th fret. Finally SUCCESS!!! This guitar sounds more in tune than ever. Oddly enough to me, I have had other guitarists offer comments after hearing this thing how remarkably in tune it sounds anywhere on the neck. Like I've said before, I've yet to read about anyone else struggling with tuning with an Anderson. Maybe I just had a case of the dumb-ass and have not realized it. The Elixer strings are really good. They really do last a while. I thought these things were just another gimmick, but they are really great strings that last longer than any I've tried.

Has all the features you would want in something called "Classic" plus some extras. Mine has the VA12, VA12R, and VA23 pickup configuration, with the mini-toggle to give the vintage sound or the full-coil, fatter sounds. This one has a V shaped neck, similar to a Fender Clapton model, with medium frets, locking tuners, and factory-installed graphtech bridge saddles. Also has push-pull to give you the neck and bridge pickups together. The case is the best I've ever seen, guitar fits in it like a hand in glove. The odd thing about this guitar is the color, it's supposed to be Lake Placid Blue, but is much darker than any LPB fender I have ever seen. However, it's beautiful. Doesn't look at all like the LPB they show on their website. It was made in August 2004, I purchased on ebay. One thing it doesn't have is the Anderson "2 strap button" thing. I emailed them about it, the response was that it was ordered that way.

Sounds incredible; does vintage and hot-rod beautifully, with a great volume and tone control. Highs stay intact with volume rolled off, tone control is voiced perfectly. 14 total pickup configurations. all sound great. The Buzz Feiten tuning system really works, the guitar is so in tune with itself!

In a word, FANTASTIC!

Everything about this guitar is so top rate, I can't imagine it ever having a problem, as long as it isn't abused.

I emailed them with a few questions after buying it on ebay, got a quick and courteous response.

Been playing since the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, and have owned a lot of gear. This is top rate, 100%. Have owned Custom Shop Fenders, currently have a PRS, a Reverend Slingshot (great guitar), a 50th Anniversary Strat, and a Warmoth Strat. Love the Anderson, wouldn't want to part with it, but may have to due to unforeseen financial problems.